


larger than the usual romantic love

by a_static_world



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Everyone Is Alive, F/F, Fluff, Good Morgana (Merlin), Gwen & Arthur Pendragon Friendship (Merlin), M/M, Napping, POV Arthur, Soft Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, shade thrown quietly at the canon universe, they are BFFS because i SAY so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27890170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_static_world/pseuds/a_static_world
Summary: Arthur Pendragon is in love with his manservant.It’s a statement that is true as the day is long, and easy as breathing.
Relationships: Gwen & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gwen/Morgana (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 141
Collections: Merthur Fics





	larger than the usual romantic love

**Author's Note:**

> "Love, for you, is larger than the usual romantic love." (richard siken, litany in which certain things are crossed out)

Arthur Pendragon is in love with his manservant.

It’s a statement that is true as the day is long, and easy as breathing. 

_ Former _ manservant, he should add. Merlin hadn’t once obeyed him when he  _ was _ working under Arthur, and now it just seems the wrong term for the man napping next to him. Arthur heard once that love is supposed to be delicate, like butterflies swooping in your stomach. Loving Merlin is none of that. It’s a punch in the gut, the feeling of treacle coating the inside of your mouth, magic crackling between your bodies. It’s too much and just enough, all at once, and gods, he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

If he’s honest, he can’t remember exactly how they ended up here. Well, he knows how they’re  _ here _ , in bed - a well deserved nap after too many council meetings. Arthur tips his head back against the wall, thinking. There was some mutual pining -  _ a lot _ , Leon’s voice echoes in his head - and, well, a healthy dose of repression. On both their parts, surprisingly. Merlin, ever the devil-may-care, apparently had his head so far up his own ass about Arthur that he thought all of the king’s advances were a prelude to  _ being fired _ . According to Gwaine, who is an unreliable narrator at best. The magical repression extended to  _ other _ “less desirable” parts of himself, as Merlin put it. 

It’s strange, probably, with the way he was raised, that Merlin’s magic never presented an issue. The magic...it’s not disconnected from Merlin. It’s a part of who he is, and since Arthur is infallibly in love with every single piece of Merlin, it’s simply more to love. Plus, it’s downright  _ wicked _ in the bedroom. Arthur stifles a laugh, remembering the time Gwaine attempted to knock him off-balance during a sparring match by asking about his and Merlin’s, ah,  _ intimacy. _ Arthur merely quirked an eyebrow, and he swears up and down to this  _ day _ that Gwaine went fully chartreuse. Not even Leon could resist laughing; the knight looked so nauseated Arthur made him sit out for the rest of the matches. 

He’s done a bad job of staying quiet, though, because Merlin huffs and wriggles beside him. Arthur’s hand slides into dark hair on reflex, scratching along the other man’s head. Merlin stills again, exhaling quietly as Arthur’s hand maintains a steady sweep. 

Someone knocks at the door, and Gwen steps in before he can even speak. She’s quiet, as always, both of them knowing full well Merlin will sleep for hours if nobody wakes him. They’d had a pretty rough morning of meetings, stumbling into their ( _ their _ , gods, when did that happen?) bedroom as soon as they could, Merlin having half a mind to draw the blinds before they fell asleep. Arthur guesses he’d only been asleep for an hour, maybe a little more, judging by the light escaping from the hastily-shut curtains.

Gwen, meanwhile, has set up shop in what Arthur nicknamed her “Gwen Corner.” She’s knitting something, though it’s dark enough that Arthur wonders how she can even see. Gwen is his closest (non-Merlin) friend in the castle, more like a sister than anything. Which makes sense, seeing as she’s  _ with  _ Morgana like Arthur’s  _ with  _ Merlin. A way that makes noblemen  _ extremely _ uncomfortable, and has been used with malicious intent on the part of his and Gwen’s partners multiple times. Nobody’s declared war, though, so perhaps having two sorcerers as primary antagonists has its uses.

They sit like that for a few minutes, Arthur quietly stroking Merlin’s hair to the rhythm of Gwen’s needles. He’s happy, he realizes. Truly, deeply happy, in a way that felt so foreign only a few years ago. He can’t imagine a different world - what would that even look like? Merlin keeping his magic a secret, maybe, or Morgana taking her flair for the dramatic a little too far and, oh, burning Camelot to the ground? Gods, in another life, would he have married Gwen? His nose wrinkles at the thought, and Gwen laughs as she catches his expression. She’s beautiful, it’s true, but, again.  _ Sisterly _ love. 

They chat softly, about everything and nothing. This courtier tried a new style of hat, to disastrous result, and another’s wife left him. Ran away with her maidservant, as Gwen tells it, tipping him a wink. Arthur grouses about his meetings, Gwen wincing in sympathy as he details the prices of grain in eight different regions. Speaking of, is the cook serving rice with supper? Gwen doesn’t know, but they both bet Morgana will. She spends half her time in the kitchens, crimping pie crust and boiling potatoes and the like. When she talks about Morgana, Gwen’s eyes crinkle at the corners.

It’s these little snatches of normalcy, he thinks, that make being king worth it. 

Merlin stirs again, groping around with a hand until he finds Arthur’s thigh. He pats it twice, their shorthand for  _ love you _ , and Arthur feels a blush dust his face. Just then, Morgana pokes her head in the door, looking for Gwen, and Arthur waves a silent goodbye as she shuffles out. Merlin’s waking up in earnest now, rolling back and forth and stretching himself like a cat, eyes shut so tight his eyelashes almost disappear. It’s endearing, and Arthur ruins it almost immediately by poking the other man’s ribs. One bright-blue eye cracks open in rage, and years of training have Arthur ducking before the swing even comes. 

Merlin groans, flopping back against the mattress as Arthur chuckles. 

“How long?”

“I love you.”

Merlin sighs, absentmindedly patting Arthur’s knee. 

“I love you too. How long did we sleep for?”

“ _ You _ slept for almost two hours.” Arthur twitches the curtains aside, ignoring Merlin’s protests in favor of scanning the courtyard below. It’s bustling with early-evening activity; knights returning from patrol, day-servants heading home, and stablehands frantically rushing around them all. Merlin groans behind him, mumbling something about helping Gaius before coming to stand behind Arthur, wrapping his arms around the king’s chest and propping a chin on his shoulder. Arthur’s glad he’s in this version of the world; no petty deaths under a black sky, prickled with lights. Only windows and soft golden lighting and love.

**Author's Note:**

> hello!  
> am back again with more absolutely Saccharine arthur content, because god damn it i like to be happy!  
> i have listened to nothing but budapest by george ezra on repeat for the past 48 hours so this was going to be based on that but then it went completely somewhere else and here we are! sappy boyfriends and arwen bffs :)  
> come find me on [tumblr](https://astaticworld.tumblr.com/) for a chat or a few mildly comedic distractions should you ever need them  
> as always, stay safe and healthy, wear your masks, and hydrate!  
> xoxo static


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